$25 billion advertising conglomerate WPP may be out of the bidding for sports and entertainment marketing giant, IMG. "We would love to own IMG," WPP CEO Martin Sorrell told the Leaders in Football sports industry conference yesterday, but when asked if WPP was bidding, he answered: "no, we can't afford it."

Sorell says the price tag could reach $2.5 billion with up to 10 companies bidding. The odds-on favorites, he says, are PE firm, Silver Lake, and William Morris Endeavor.